This invention relates to photographers' posing aids and more particularly to posing aids that employ stroboscopic effects to produce changing optical illusions that are capable of capturing and holding the attention of photographic subjects, particularly small children.
A common problem experienced by both professional and amateur photographers working with human subjects is to get the subject to assume and maintain a proper head and eye pose long enough for a photograph to be taken. The problem is particularly acute when the subject is a small child, because small children often do not understand a photographer's instructions and in addition they tend to be physically active, tend to have short attention spans and tend to be easily distracted by extraneous sounds or movements in the room. It is therefore not uncommon for a subject, especially a small child, to either fail to achieve the desired pose or to lose the pose before the photographer has time to take a photograph.
Numerous gimmicks have been employed in attempts to attract and hold a subject's attention, such as balancing, throwing, or suddenly displaying or concealing a toy such as a ball or doll. Another common practice is for another person, such as a parent, to call to or talk to the subject or clown around in front of the subject in the hope of attracting and holding the subject's attention. Presently known methods are ineffective in capturing and holding a subject's attention and they are lacking in means for precisely positioning a subject's head or precisely controlling the direction of view of a subject's eyes.